Novo Nordisk continues platform expansion in China

At the ongoing fourth China International Import Expo, Novo Nordisk updated the expansion of its "China Essentials" program and shared its latest achievements and platforms for co-creation.

The "China Essentials" program incorporates the INNOVO open innovation platform, which was established in 2019. Through the platform, Novo Nordisk is working with the most dynamic local innovation drivers to accelerate the transformation of scientific research into new medicines. 

Zhang Kezhou, corporate vice-president for China at Novo Nordisk, said Ozempic, NovoEight and Xultophy, the company's three new products, have been approved in China. 

On its efforts to integrate China with its global R&D pipeline, Novo Nordisk's Icodec insulin (once-weekly insulin injection), which has been simultaneously developed in China and around the world for the first time, has started key phase III clinical trials in China. 

Several clinical trial applications have also been approved, covering obesity, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, Alzheimer's and other chronic diseases.

Of the expansions announced at the fourth CIIE, two new plans stand out: the Novo Nordisk Compound Sharing program, which provides researchers with high-quality compounds for free, and the Assay Sharing program, which supports researchers outside the company who are exploring new disease mechanisms. 

With the launch of these two plans, the company aims to share its resources and platforms with pharmaceutical researchers in China, helping them discover new modes of action and expand disease biology understanding, which can contribute to accelerating scientific research and future breakthroughs for medical solutions.

"The two programs are receiving a lot of positive feedback from researchers. Since the first batch of in vitro fibrosis models were opened to the public, we have launched 10 more programs involving more than 80 compound tests," said Han Dan, head of the Novo Nordisk Research Center in China.

"At present, we have already completed our first set of over 20 compound test reports and have shared the results with our partners. We want to help front-line researchers through practical means and contribute to building a bio-pharmaceutical innovation ecosystem."

"Having participated the CIIE for four consecutive years, we are demonstrating our confidence in the China market and our commitment to Chinese patients with a continuous stream of expansions to the 'China Essentials' program," said Christine Zhou, senior vice-president of Novo Nordisk and president for China. 

"Novo Nordisk is playing an increasingly important role in China's pharmaceutical innovation ecosystem, and further deepening our value chain in China, which will eventually benefit patients nationwide."